Welcome.
Went to a blues show tonight here in Springfield with my wife to see Keb' Mo' in concert. It was a great show. I’ve been a fan of his for about 30 years and this was my first time hearing him play live. We got to see him play up close and I took this picture with my iPhone.
So, Sunday night, I went to St. Louis to see The Rolling Stones with my longtime high school pal Ronald Rice. We had a great time and attended what was a historic concert for this great rock band. It was the first show of the U.S. "No Filter" tour that originally began in 2017 but had to be put on hold in 2020 due to the pandemic. There was some talk that it might not ever be concluded and last month the longtime original member of the band, drummer Charlie Watts died. But the show must go on. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood with other musicians hit the stage to present a rousing rockin' show. A video was shown before they hit the stage of Charlie Watts in tribute. The three surviving members were visibly emotional as they thanked the fans and paid tribute to their fallen comrade as this was the first show that they were going to do without their beloved drummer. The night's performance was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen. For me, it was my first time seeing The Rolling Stones as I've been a fan of them for as long as I can remember. My pal Ron has seen them several times, but this was a "bucket list" item for me. Well, it was only rock and roll, but I liked it.... liked it....liked it....yes, I do.
For one last time in my life, I saw The Police in concert last Saturday
night on May 10, 2008 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. It was
about a mile from the convention center where I annually attend the
Wizard World Chicago comic book conventions in Rosemont.
I drove
up to Chicago with my good friend and fellow Police fan, Kathy Wheeler.
Together, we’ve seen Sting in concert about four times. As I’ve
mentioned in my blog before, my wife Roxie isn’t a fan of Sting or The
Police. She isn’t a fan of most musicians that I enjoy and so she is
okay with me going out to concerts with Kathy, or my old high school
pal, Ron Rice. She’s happy these two will keep an eye on me and see that
I don’t get in to too much trouble.
Kathy summed it up exactly on her blog
that it has been a whirlwind year that started with a rumor that The
Police would reunite. Which lead to the long world-wide tour. Together,
we saw The Police last July in St. Louis. That was the first time I had a
chance to see my favorite band together.
Last Saturday’s show
was a great performance and they were more in synch with each other even
than last year. They are currently on the last leg of their reunion
tour and will end it forever in a few weeks from now in New York City
where they say that it’ll be their final performance forever together.
I
had a fun time with Kathy. We got to meet up with other Police fans at a
dinner before the concert at Shoeless Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions opened up for The Police. It felt
very much like a double-bill. He is another musician who I enjoy
listening to. Sting came out on stage to do a duet with Elvis on the
song, “Allison.”
We sat what was basically the fifth row off to
Sting’s side of the stage. Kathy’s camera took some limited video and so
she got some great shots that she has placed on her website and on
YouTube. I’m posting a few here on my blog courtesy of Kathy where you
can see our vantage point. (Also, check out Kathy’s side at http://www.stingfield.com/ for more pictures and video).
Heck, I enjoyed the WHOLE show and stood the entire time and grooved with the music. It’ll be a night I’ll never forget.
Like
Kathy, I also feel appreciative that our favorite band came together
after 20 plus years to reunite to give us fans (and themselves) some
closure. We can now all accept that it is the end.
